The Mark Highlights
BUS SAFETY MONTH
From left: Director of Transportation Melody Ford, Bus Driver Mark Hersman, Bus Driver Sherry Daugherty
The month of October is recognized as School Bus Safety Month; and for a good reason. The school bus is the safest vehicle on the road by a landslide. It is 70x more likely for students to get to school safely when taking a school bus, instead of traveling by car. California ranks to have the best school bus driving record in the nation.
Melody Ford, Manteca Unified Director of Transportation, would argue that MUSD has the best school bus drivers throughout the state. “We only hire the most qualified and trained bus drivers,” she explained. “Even when we desperately need drivers, we will not settle. This is where mistakes happen in other districts.”
California school bus drivers are held to a very high standard and becoming a school bus driver is no easy task. A trainee must complete a minimum of 20 hours of required classroom training established by the CA Department of Education, pass a commercial driver’s license test (both written and behind the wheel), a medical physical exam, background and drug test clearance, interview with CHP, and obtain a first aid and CPR certification. Once hired, every 5 years they must repeat the process. One of the reasons the school bus is ranked the safest vehicle is because it is the most regulated vehicle. Sherry Daugherty is a school bus driver having served Manteca Unified for nearly 30 years. “Student safety actually begins before we even pick up students,” Daugherty explained. “We come in a half-hour early to give our bus
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